NY Gov. Cuomo Exhibits Signs of Latent Reefer Madness

As states across the Western United States (and some in the tippy top of the Northeast) liberalize marijuana laws, states in the South and greater Northeast are still plagued by recurring bouts of reefer madness.

Is it just a coincidence that those states with smaller African American populations are the states that are most quickly responding to the overwhelming evidence that the war on drugs has been a failure, and has, in part, been a war on African Americans?

Arrest stats indicate marijuana laws are targeted toward the African American population across the nation, while usage stats indicate whites are as likely, and sometimes more so, to use marijuana than African Americans. Should Democrats across the Northeast and the South "check their privilege" to see if their support for laws that the American public, at large, overwhelmingly does not want is really an expression of racism in their communities?

A two-part story about Gov. Cuomo's anti-medical marijuana fight with the New York Senate.

Cuomo has also told the Legislature that he wants to classify as a felony the crime of fraudulently seeking or prescribing the drug.

And he would cut down on the 20 chronic illnesses the Legislature wants to be able to treat with marijuana. The governor wants any law to cover patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, MS, HIV/AIDS, diabetics, and spinal cord injuries. It would have to be a neuropathic condition with "true nerve pain", a Cuomo aide said.

Cuomo also wants the Legislature to remove a provision from its bill allowing patients to receive up to 2.5 ounces of pot every 30 days. Instead, like with other drugs, he would allow doctors to prescribe pot in one-month doses that would be decided by the physicians. Cuomo would require doctors, and not physician assistants and nurse practitioners, to prescribe the pot. And he wants doctors to be pre-certified by the state Health Department to ensure they are specialists in the field they are treating with the marijuana, Cuomo officials said.

Cuomo wants to limit the registered organizations to five, with each one required to operate four dispensaries in different parts of the state to ensure there is easy access statewide, one Cuomo aide said.

It's so sad to see Democrats align with the drug warriors and their lies. Of course, Cuomo has genuine concerns - but they're born out of the same past that treated marijuana as something worse than heroin, when, in fact, it is less dangerous than alcohol.

But the northeast established itself long ago as a alcohol culture, when prohibition was creating a criminal class and demonstrating the utter hypocrisy of U.S. govt. policy concerning the right of Americans to control their own decisions about the things they choose to ingest. When I see this sort of thing, I think the Northeast is stuck in some mid-20th century Democrat past - while the base of the party has moved forward - and it's the west that will lead America to a better future.

1. Savino called Cuomo concerns "inconsistent"

Independent Democratic Conference Sen. Diane Savino in a radio interview on Monday called Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s concerns over allowing a medical marijuana program inconsistent and complained that proposed bill language from his office hasn’t been made available.

Savino is one of the key backers of the medical marijuana bill known as the Compassionate Care Act, a bill that late last week was revealed to be the subject of three-way negotiations with Cuomo’s office.

On Monday, The Daily News reported a litany of concerns the governor’s office has with the legislation, including a provision that would allow medical marijuana users to smoke the drug, providing they are over 21.

To Savino, this concern rings hallow, considering the governor last year proposed decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in order to stem stop-and-frisk arrests.

fwiw. Even actions to stem stop-and-frisk arrests are not reality in places like Chicago - which still prefers to target American PoC.